


Somewhere Better

by wordsbykaly



Category: Day6 (Band)
Genre: Alien Invasion, Alternate Universe - Dystopia, But they're not hugely part of the story, F/M, Fire, Kang Younghyun | Young K & Bang Chan are friends, Mentioned Other K-pop Artist(s), Mentions of Death, Nightmares, One Shot, Science Fiction, Temporary Amnesia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:01:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25111315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wordsbykaly/pseuds/wordsbykaly
Summary: I hear his voice in my dreams: always searching but never finding me as the flames swallow me whole.Who are you? Why are you looking for me?
Relationships: Kang Younghyun | Young K/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	Somewhere Better

**Author's Note:**

> From the dialogue prompt: "Shh, it's okay. I won't let you go."

It always started the same way.

Always bright. Too bright.

A strange creature – orange, lithe, and very much alive – climbed the wooden walls around her, licking the air with a ferocious intensity. Pillars crumbled at its touch, and its dark breath filled the air with toxic fumes. It caged me. Pushed me back. Snarled if I dared take a step in its direction. I reached a trembling hand to try and tame the beast but it swiped, the heat of its touch clinging to my fingertips.

Fire.

Everything was on fire.

A scream rang in the air. It took a while to realize it was mine.

 _Jam! Jam, where are you?_ A voice searched, as frantic as the blaze rose high. _Please help me find you!_

 _Here, here!_ I wanted to say, but my lips were sewn shut. _I’m right here!_

 _Jam, love, where are you?_ The voice kept calling, growing more and more distant with every cry.

The flames crept closer, roaring like a tiger with paws ready to snatch me in a harsh embrace.

Before it could touch me, rough hands dragged my body into darkness.

Then the scene changed.

I was on a cliff; the grass beneath me was dead to the touch. It was still too bright; sunlight seared into my eyeballs, hot even as wind blew around me.

The air shimmered and a woman in white appeared, hovering beyond the edge of the cliff. She drifted toward me and gently pulled me to my feet; the lady's cold hands rested on my shoulders, the talons of her fingers digging in my skin.

 _You’re the perfect pawn, hija,_ she purred. _He would never suspect you._

Her voice, low and tinted with amusement, made my insides clench. I wanted to run, but I couldn’t move. The lady smiled as if sensing my resistance.

 _Don’t you trust me, hija?_ She mused, drawing both of us closer to the edge.

 _No!_ I wanted to scream, but my voice wouldn’t work.

Her laugh bounced off the face of the crag as she pulled me past the rim of earth; my body dangled from her hands. I could hear the sea pound against rock from way, way below. It was hard to tell how high up I was but I didn’t want to find out.

My hands were slipping but they gripped onto hers, desperate for contact.

 _Please_ , I wanted to beg. _Please don’t do this._

The wind picked up and the sun blinded me. I couldn’t hear or see anything, but her next words were crystal clear in my ears.

_Good luck, Jam._

She let me go and began to laugh, the force of it sending me screaming into the rocks below.

* * *

Rough hands shook him awake. Brian nearly swept his tray of vegetables and rice off the table if Chan hadn’t moved it out of the way in time. He shot him an annoyed look, but Brian knew better than to take it personally. Chan was just worried about him; they all were, since they found her.

Chan shook his head, sliding the tray back to its original spot in front of him. He plucked a carrot off of the salad and tossed it into his mouth; tax, as he’d call it. “I _told_ you, Brian. You won’t be any good if you skip any more nights of sleep.”

“But I’m—”

“Oh, cut the crap. You’re not fine and you know it.”

Brian rolled his eyes. “Is this why you woke me up? To nag? At this point, you better write new sermons, Chan. They’re getting old.”

The other boy opened his arms with a tight-lipped smile. “Hey, I come bearing good news!”

“Surprise me,” he scoffed.

“She’s awake, Brian,” Chan said, eyes flashing. “Jam’s awake.”

Chan barely finished before Brian launched himself off the bench. His legs ran at full speed through the dark corridors of the compound, desperate to bring him closer to her. He could hear Chan call out to him, but he was in no mood to slow down. Not when she was waiting for him.

_I’m coming, Jam. Just a little while longer._

The isolation wing was on the far side of the base, but it took him almost no time to reach it. He shouldered past curious bodies eager to take a glimpse at their recent rescue. Fortunately, the door to Jam’s ward was locked, preventing anyone from coming any closer. Unfortunately, someone else was already inside – the last person Brian wanted in there, if he could’ve helped it.

He waved his arms through the window, trying to catch Nadine’s attention before things could escalate. But her cold stare stayed fixed on Jam whose eyes darted all over the room, her features twisted in panic. She was visibly shivering even though the wards were warm. Her trembling hands held herself together tightly as if she’d fall apart if she loosened her grip even for a little bit.

He needed to get in there. _Now._

A heavy hand rested on his shoulder. “You… should’ve waited… for me,” Chan panted, catching his breath. He jingled the round of keys, message loud and clear.

Brian snatched the ring from his hands, fumbling when the key wouldn’t fit in the slot. “Why didn’t you tell me Nadine was in there, too?”

“You… fucking ran away… no time…”

After what felt like forever, the door unlocked with a satisfying click. He gripped the knob tight, steeling himself for what was about to go down.

“For the _last time_ ,” he heard Nadine demand as he slipped in the room, _“what_ did you see? _Who_ sent you?” She kept her hands to herself but Brian could tell they were itching to grab the other girl by the shoulders and shake the answers out of her. If the set of her mouth was any indication, she was _so_ close to doing just that.

“I… I don’t know.” Jam’s face contorted in pain and her quivering intensified. “Please… Please stop,” she cried, squeezing her eyes shut.

Before Nadine could pounce, he put himself between the two girls, arms spread out protectively. Chan shuffled in behind him, muttering excuses and apologies to the people outside. As the door clicked closed, only the sounds of Jam’s shallow breathing filled the room.

Nadine’s gaze bore into him, displeased. “Leave, Brian. Now is not the time.”

“Nadine—”

“Khun specifically ordered that you were not allowed to be present during this interrogation. I thought _everyone_ got that memo,” she added, shifting her glare to Chan.

“Geez, Nadine, stop acting surprised every time I toe the line, will you?” The boy grunted, leaning against the door. “Besides, you of all people know Bri would kill us if we didn’t tell him.”

“It’s for his own good.”

 _“My_ own good?” It was Brian’s turn to sneer. “You think treating her like a suspect – like a _criminal_ – is going to do me any _good?_ Fuck it, Nadine, can’t you see she’s terrified?”

“And can’t _you_ see how unreasonable _you’re_ being?” She wheeled on him, eyes ablaze with fury and disbelief. “Our team found her body right outside the base entrance. Don’t you find it a tiny bit suspicious that she’d end up there, in the middle of nowhere?”

“That doesn’t mean she’s trouble,” he mumbled, the excuse sounding lame even to his own ears.

Her right hand fingered the switchblad sheathed on ther thigh. “And you said so yourself,” she said as her index finger traced patterns on the hilt. “She’s supposed to be _dead._ That fire was no joke, Brian, and we barely pulled _you_ out before the building toppled over. Yet somehow, this supposedly deceased person ends up on our doorstep. How exactly does that not mean trouble?”

Months ago, he would’ve poked fun at her for being this wary. The invasion was far from over but they had time on their side. The body snatchers were ill-adapted to life on Earth and the resistance grew by the day as more and more bodies were salvaged before their consciousness were erased. If someone asked him then if they had a chance, he wouldn’t have doubted that victory (and hopefully, normalcy) would soon be theirs.

Sadly, things were different now. Raids became riskier and skirmishes were a daily occurrence every time they left for the outside world. Tensions in the camp soared as each encounter got closer and closer to their hideout. He knew she was right to be suspicious; they had so much to _lose_ if the scales tipped and they slid to the losing end.

But the broken look on Jam’s face undid him – Jam, who had the most beautiful smile in the universe, reduced to a petrified shadow of who she once was. How was he supposed to bear seeing her like that?

“C’mon, Nads,” he pleaded, noting how she flinched at the nickname. “Can’t you cut her some slack? Just for today.” He took a step closer to her, adding distance between her and the trembling girl behind him. “I’ll talk to Khun, I promise. Dude still owes me after all I did for Tiff and you know that.”

He held his breath as Nadine glowered at him, her small hands balled into fists. She wouldn’t swing; they both knew she couldn’t take him, at least not yet. He could see her weigh her options, the thoughts flickering through her dark eyes faster than he could read them.

“You have five minutes,” she said at last. With that, she spun on her heel, making sure to drag Chan by the collar while she was on her way out. The door fell shut and they were alone.

_Finally._

It’s been a week since they found her just as they were about to leave for a raid. It was Dahyun who saw her first; she said it looked as if someone thoughtlessly tossed her body by the cacti patch a few yards away from the entrance of their compound. He’d been itching to visit her but someone (usually Khun or Jae) would manage to intercept him before he could. _You can’t see her yet,_ they’d say. _We still aren’t sure who she is, Brian_. But even though it’d been years since he last saw her, he knew the minute he laid eyes on her bruised face that it _was_ her: Jam, the love of his life.

Jam, who was supposed to have died in that freak fire accident four years ago.

Jam, who now looked at him like she had no clue who he was.

Brian took a tentative step in her direction, relieved when she didn’t shrink away from him. Time was ticking but he continued inching towards her. He settled on the edge of the cot, careful not to startle her.

“Are you okay?” Stupid question; she obviously wasn’t, but what were you supposed to say when you meet your girlfriend years after you thought she died?

She didn’t answer which wasn’t a surprise. Instead she held herself tighter, her wide eyes searching his face for any sign of danger.

He masked his worry with a smile. “Do you know me?”

Slowly, she shook her head.

“Do you know where you are, then?” he asked, cautious.

Her lips trembled as tears pooled in her eyes. _Shit._

“Please stop,” she whispered, her voice cracked and hoarse from disuse. “I don’t know. I don’t _know._ I—”

His control buckled. Immediately his arms wrapped around her tiny frame, his own tears tracing tracks down his cheeks. He closed his eyes to calm himself but it was too late – the terrified look in her eyes was imprinted on his brain, demanding to be remembered.

_What happened to you, love?_

Surprisingly, she didn’t recoil from the sudden contact. “No more questions, please.” She shook so violently but Brian was afraid to tighten his hold, worried that it would scare her even more. “I don’t know anything, sir. Please don’t hurt me,” she sobbed, shattering his heart in the process.

“Shh, you’re safe,” he murmured into her hair. “It’s okay, I won’t hurt you.” 

_I won’t let you go_ , he added in his mind as she continued to weep in his arms. _Not again. Never again._


End file.
